Hoisting apparatus.



J. D. WILLIAMSON, Jn.

. HOIBTING APPARATUS.

I APPLIOATIOK FILED FEB. 13, 1909.

Patented Apr. 4, 1911.

4 SEEP-THREE? 1.

J. D. WILLIAMSON, Jn.

HOISTING APPARATUS.

APPLICATION IILED'IEB. 13, 1909.

Patented Apr. 4, 1911.

4 BHEETE-BHBET 2.

d W H U a I q E Q g wn m I! f. 1 v 1 4 r m. AMV

. WILLIAMSON, J11.

HOISTING APPARATUS. APPLIOATION 'rnnn rnn.1a, 190a.

Patented Apr. 4, 1911.

4 SHEETS-SHEET a.

InvuvEon Faufl. Wil iamson 'J. 11. WILLIAMSON, J11. HOISTING APPARATUS.

APPLICATION IILBD FEB. 18, 1909.

988,843, Patented-Apr. 4,- 1911.

UNITED STATES PATENT OEEIoE.

JOHN D. WILLIAMSON, JR., OF PHILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA, ASSIGNOR T WIL- LIAMSON BROS. COMPANY, OF PHILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA, A CORPORATION OF PENNSYLVANIA.

I-IOISTING APPARATUS.

fication.

My invention relates to that particular class of apparatus in which a clamshell or other suitable form of bucket is employed in connection with hoisting and lowering apparatus, for transporting coal or other lump or granular material from one point to another; one object of said invention being to provide apparatus of this general class,

which shall not only be relatively inexpensive as to its cost of operation, but shall, in addition, be capable of being easily installed and maintained.

Another object of the invention is to provide transporting apparatus whose parts shall be so arranged that the labor required for their operation shall be a minimum, and which in addition, shall be of high capacity and efliciency.

I also desire to provide transporting apparatus of the general class noted, which shall be provided with automatic means for controlling certain of its operations, where by it is possible for a single operator to govern the entire mechanism; it being further desired that said apparatus shall be of such a nature as to require for the greater part of its construction, a novel arrangement of apparatus readily obtainable and of a relatively simple nature.-

These objects and other advantageous ends I secure as hereinafter set forth, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, in which Figure 1, is a side elevation, to some extent diagrammatic, illustrating my improved hoisting apparatus; Fig. 2, is a plan of the apparatus of Fig. 1 with certain of its parts in positions different from those illustrated in said figure; Fig. 3, is a plan, partly in section, of the three hoisting drums and their associated mechanism, employed as part of my invention; Fig. l, is a side elevation of the apparatus shown in Fig. 3; Fig. 5, is a side elevation of part of the automatic controlling mechanism for one of the drums; Fig. 6, is .a horizontal section illustrating certain of the hand controlling Specification of Letters Patent.

Application filed February 13, 1909.

Patented Apr. 4, 1911.

Serial No. 477,686.

means for two of the drums; Figs. 7, 8 and 9, are elevations illustrating details of my invention; and Figs. 10 and 11 are diagrammatic elevations showing slightly modified arrangements of the structures on which the bucket and its controlling cables may be carried.

In Fig. 1 of the above drawings, I have illustrated my invention as applied to the transporting of material from a car or pile of the same, indicated at A, to a boat or a second pile B, and for this purpose I provide two masts a and a, which may be placed at any suitable distance apart and may be of any required height, although if desired I may employ but a single mast as in Fig. 10, or two masts without booms, as in Fig. 11.

The mast a is provided with a boom a carrying at its outer end a double block a, While the mast a has a boom a, at whose outer end is mounted a single block u At some point, preferably between the two masts a and (d, I mount a machine having three hoisting drums X, Y and Z, from the first of which a cable runs around a sheave a at the lower end of the boom a", to and over the block a and terminates in a double snatch block a. Two other cables run respectively from the drums Y and Z, around a double sheave a at the base of the boom o around the block a to the snatch block a, and finally terminate at a bucket a, which in the resent instance is of the clamshell type. f these two latter ropes, that from the drum Z is the hoisting rope and is connected to the bucket in the well known manner, while that from the drum Y is the tripping rope, and runs to the mechanism for controlling the opening'and closing of the bucket a".

The power for driving the three drums may be obtained from any desired form of engine or motor, and in the present instance I have illustrated a crank shaft C as symbolical of such a source of power, since it is very common in two and three drum hoist ing machines to provide a pair of engines whose connecting rods are coupled to the cranks c of such a shaft G. Keyed to this shaft is a pinion 0, meshing with gears w and g mounted loosely on shafts a" and 3 which serve as the supporting means for the drums X and Y. Each of said gears is pro- ,to the drum Y.

videdwith a friction clutch consisting ofca series of blocks 00 and y respectively designed to frictionally engage suitably constructed portions of the drums X and Y to the gears 00 and 3 The drum Z is mounted loosely upon a shaft 2 which also loosely carries a gear wheel 2 meshing with the gear J. This gear 2 is also provided with a series of blocks 4 which with a suitably shaped portion of the drum Z, constitutes a friction clutch for coupling said drum and gear. This clutch and the gear 2 may be dispensed with without departing from my invention. Also mountedn-pon. the shaft 2 at the end of the drum Z opposite that having thegear z is a second gear 2 which, While loose upon said shaft, is movably coupled to the drum by the means shown in detail in Figs. 3, 4: and 7. This consists, preferably, of a lug a fixed to and projecting-from one head of the gear 2 and capable of engaging either of two lugs 2'' both yieldingly mounted onthe adjacent faceof the drum Z. Between each of these lugs "2 and their supporting structure are placed compression springs 2 serving as shock absorbers and of a strength and length depending upon certain constants of the apparatus hereafter noted. I

The drum: Z is provided with a friction brake 27 and a hand operating" lever 2 whereby said drum may be moved bodily upon its shaft into engagement with the blocks 2 so as to couple it to the gear if this should be desirable. Meshing with the gear 2 and loosely carried on the shaft y" is a broad faced gear which, it will be noted, is rigidly'an'd permanently connected At one end of the shaft 3 ismounted a controlling lever 3 capable of actuating any desired. form of meansfor'operatively connecting said shaft with the gear 3 and hencezwith the drum In the present case said lever actsthrough a screw and bar upon the endplate 3 of a plate clutch and is also capable of simultaneously moving'thedrumY longitudinally of saidshaft 'so as'to make it engage the blocks g and so, It is be frictionally coupled to the gear y. obvious that on e of these clutches may be omitted if desired From Fig; 4c' itwill be noted that this controlling lever y is con-- 'nected. through a link y with the lever e for actuating the brakes of the drum Z, so

that as said handle is turned to couple the drum Y to the shaft 3 and to-the gear y,

the brake 2 is simultaneously released from said drum Z. Said drum Y is also provided with a brake 3 whereby'it may be held at will.

From Fig. 3, it will be noted that the drum X is keyed to the shaft m and is pro vided witha devicewhereby, either-automatically or at will, it may be frictionally coupled through the blocks 00 to the gear m.

This device consists of a lever d fulcrumed at (Z to a portion of the frame of the machine, which it will be understood, is provided with suitable bearings for the support of the various shafts above referred to, although these bearings and other details forming no part of the present invention have been omitted in order to avoid complication of the drawings. Said lever (Z is connected to a collar slidable upon the shaft 03 so as to be capable of moving the gear a" and throughit the blocks 00 into engagement with the drum X when it i-s-desired to couple this lat ter to the said gear. F or actuating the'zlever (Z I provide a spindle (Z having threads of relatively great pitch in engagement with a correspondingly threaded passage in the frame M and having keyed or fixed to it a.

(i in such manner as to cause the nut and its connected parts toturn with the shaft when owing to the movement of said nut-upon said shaft, it has become coupled to either of said stops. The other end of the shaft w is provided with two oppositely threaded sleeve portions f and f, upon the first or outer of which is mounted agear f having a suitably threaded hub for the reception of said part 7. A.- brake member f isli-kewise provided with a threaded hub movable upon the portion f and is designed to be capable of fric tionally engaging and being thereby locked V to, a floating ratchet wheel 7, mounted in this case between said brakemember' and the drum X; there being a pawl or dog f mounted on the frame and normally engaging this ratchet wheel so as toprevent it from turning. of the ratchet wheel f and the brake member f aremounted' suitably formed sheets) of leather or fiber. provided with a projecting lugf designed to be engaged by a projectinglug f carried by the gear .wheel f when this latter has approached sufficiently near it by being turned Said brake member is Between the adjacent faces on the threaded portion 7 of the shaft. When so engaged, the movement given the brake member f is sufficient to break the jam or frictional connection between it and the ratchet wheel f and thereby permit said parts with the drum X, to turn independently of said wheel.

/Vith the above described combination of parts, if it be desired: to transfer material from the car or pileA to a second pile or boat, etc., indicated at B, the bucket of would first be lowered while in an open condition onto said first pile or other container of material. This part of the operation is accomplished by permitting the cables to run off of the drums Y and Z under the action of the weight of the bucket a, which is held open by applying the brake a to the drum Z. The drum Y can thus make almost a complete revolution independently of the drum Z so that the cable from the drum Y slackens while the weight of the bucket is carried on the cable from said drum Z. Said bucket is thus lowered into a body of material in its open condition, when by properly operating the hand lever y, the drum Y is operatively connected to the ear 3 The shaft C, being turned by its engines or other source of power, therefore drives said gear y through the pinion 0, and inasmuch as the gears y and 2 mesh with each other, this latter gear as well as the shaft .2

and f will become disengaged.

is driven, although it is noted that owing to the loose connect-ion between the drum Z and the gear .2 said drum lags behind the drum Y almost a complete revolution, so that the latter drum is caused to take up the bucket closing cable to an extent sufficient to completely close the bucket before it is actually hoisted by the cable from the drum Z. Thereafter, until the bucket is raised to about the extent indicated in Fig. 1, the two drums Y and Z work together.

Owing to the fact that the gear f is in mesh with the gear '1 the former gear, during this hoisting operation, has been turned on the stationary shaft 03, and the parts are so adjusted that when the bucket a has reached the desired height, the lug f comes in contact with the lug f thus giving the brake member i a slight movement on its supporting screw 7, which, however, is sufficient to break the jam between it and the stationary ratchet wheel 7. The drum X is thus free to turn with the shaft on, so that while the two drums Y and Z continue winding up their cables, said drum X begins and continues to pay out its cable. If, owing to the weight of the bucket, such paying out causes the speed of the drum to exceed that of the two drums Y and Z, the brake member 7" will thereby be moved relatively to the gear f so that the lugs f This at once results in the amming of the brake member f upon the ratchet wheel 7 so that said drum X cannot turn farther until the gear 7' has again caused breakage of the jam as before described, and as a consequence the length of the cables taken up by the drums Y and Z is maintained equal to that paid out by the drum X. Finally, however, the two drums Y and Z have so far taken in their cables as to bring the bucket to the position shown in dotted lines in Fig. 1, after which, by properly operating the handle y said two drums may be disconnected from the source of power and permitted to pay out their cables under the action of gravity upon the bucket. As soon as this action begins, the drum X is once more held stationary by the automatic braking action of the parts f and f due to the disengagement of the lugs f and f and at any time desired, the bucket may be dumped by applying the brake e to the drum Z. It should be borne in mind, however, that the above noted revolution of the shaft w has resulted in a movement of the nut (Z toward the stop (Z and when after dumping, the bucket has again been hoisted by the application of power to the drums Y and Z, the slight continued revolution of the shaft m at last brings said nut into engagement with said stop, with the result that the frame cl attached to the gear wheel cl, is with said gear wheel, operatively coupled to said shaft w. Said gear is thus turned, and with it the gear (Z so that the spindle CF is screwed toward the lever d and the latter made to press the blocks a; of the gear wheel m into engagement with the drum X, thus causing said drum to be positively driven from the shaft C. Such action is rendered possible by reason of the fact that the power applied to said drum at once causes breakage of the jam between the brake member f and the floating ratchet wheel f, so that the rope attached to the snatch block a is thus taken in, while, since the gears y and e are driven from the gear F, the cables from the drums Y and Z are paid out to an equal amount, until finally, the drum X and its shaft m have turned to such an extent as to cause the nut (Z to be brought into engagement with the outer step d. When this occurs, the .gear d is turned through the medium of the frame and the gear (Z is likewise turned to unscrew the spindle (Z The lever (Z then allows the gear a: to become disengaged from the drmn X, which is at once held from further revolution by reason of the immediate jamming of the brake memher 7' on the ratchet wheel f. The bucket may now be lowered by allowing the cables from the drums Y and Z to continue their unwinding and may be caused to open by the application of the brake e as before described. By alternately applying and releasing the friction clutch between the drum Z and the gear 2 the bucket is jlggled, that is, the blades of the bucket are alternately opened and closed, and any material retained in it is shaken out.

From the above description it will be noted that aside from the operation of the brake e and the handle 3 the machine is practically automatic, for the various parts may be adjusted so as to begin and cease their operations at predetermined times in order to secure the desired results.

By shifting the stops d and (Z toward or from the nut d, the paying out and taking in of the cable leading to the snatch block ([1 may be regulated with the utmost nicety, while similarly the floating ratchet wheel f*, as well as the parts 7 and may be adjusted to suit various heights of boom as well as to meet the different conditions aris ing from variation of the distance between the masts a; and a or other sheave supporting structures.

By the use of the parts 2 2 and 2 I provide a most simple and convenient device for opening and closing the bucket, for it will be understood that the possible amount of relative movement between the gear 2 and the drum Z is dependent upon the length of cable necessary to be taken up or let out from the drum Y in opening or closing the bucket.

As shown in Fig. 2, the booms may be given various positions relatively to their masts and to each other, and the distance between the masts may be varied to suit various conditions which may arise. As shown in Fig. 10, a single mast a may be employed to support both booms a and a or in some cases two masts a and a may be used without any booms; in which case the sheaves a and a are connected directly to the heads of said masts.

If desired the friction clutch having the blocks g may be replaced by the plate clutch 3 as it is obvious that any suitable form of friction clutch may be used here as well as between the gears 00 and e and their rea coupling which allows one drum to turn to a predetermined extent relatively to the other.

2. Hoisting means consisting of the combination of a source of power, a plurality of cable drums capable of being driven therefrom, means for connecting the drums to said source of power at will, means for holding one of said drums from turning at will, and means for automatically releasing said holding means after said other drum has made a predetermined number of revolutions.

3. The combination in hoisting mechanism of a source of power, two cable drums capable of being driven therefrom, means for holding one of said drums from turning at will, means for automatically releasing said holding means after the other drum has made a predetermined number of revolutions, said means including a device for automatically permitting the holding means to become efiective when the speeds of revolution of the drums are different.

4:. The combination in hoisting mechanism of a source of power, two cable drums capable of being connected thereto at will, an automatic brake capable of holding one of the drums from turning, and means actuated from the other drum for releasing said brake under predetermined conditions, said releasing means including a devicefor causing automatic application of the brake when the speed of one of the drums exceeds that of the other.

5. The combination in hoisting mechanism of a source of power, two drums, means whereby either drum may be connected at will to said source of power, and means whereby one of the drums is automatically connected to or disconnected from the source of power after it has made a predetermined number of revolutions.

6. The combination in hoisting. means of a source of power, two drums, means whereby either drum may be connected at will to said source of power, means whereby one of the drums is automatically connected to or disconnected from the source of power after it has made a predetermined number of revolutions, means whereby said drum is held from turning, and means for automatically releasing said holding means under predetermined conditions.

7. The combination in hoisting means of a source of power, two drums, means whereby either drum may be connected at will to said source of power, means whereby one ofthe drums is automatically connected to or disconnected from the source of power after it has made a predetermined number of revolutions, and means for automatically governing the speed of said drum so asto maintain it-equal to that of the other drum.

8. The combination in hoisting mechanism of a hoisting and a tripping drum geared together, a third drum, a source of power capable of being connected to any of said connecting said source with either drum at-' will, and means for operatively connecting.

said drums to each other, the same'co'nsisting of two concentrically mounted membersof which one has a portion capable of driving engagement with a portion of the. other member and the parts being arranged to permit of one of the drums turning to a predetermined extent independently of the other.

10. The combination in hoisting mechanism of two drums, a source of power, means connecting said source with either drum at will, and means for operatively eonneeting said drums to each other, the same consisting of two concentrically mounted members of which one has a portion capable of driving engagement with a portion of the other member and the parts being arranged to permit of one of the drums turning to a predetermined extent independently of the other, with shock absorbing means for said members.

11. The combination in hoisting mechanism of two drums, means for operatively connecting one drum to the other, said connecting means being arranged to permit of movement of one drum independently of the other to a predetermined extent and including a resilient abutment and a lug capable of engaging the same.

12. The combination in hoisting mechanism of two drums, a source of power, means for operatively connecting the drums to each other, a brake for one drum, means for connecting the other drum to the source of power, and a single operating device capable of simultaneously applying the brake to one drum and actuating the means for connecting the other drum to the source of power.

13. The combination in hoisting mechanism of two drums, a source 0t power, means for operatively connecting the drums to each other, a brake for one drum, means for connecting the other drum to the source of power, and a single operating device arranged to simultaneously apply the brake to one drum and actuate the means for connecting the other to the source of power.

In testimony whereof, I have signed my name to this specification, in the presence of two subscribing witnesses.

JOHN D. WILLIAMSON, JR.

Witnesses:

WVILLIAM .11). BRADLEY, J os. H. KLEIN.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents, Washington, D. C. 

